


At Work With Dad

by GachMoBrea



Series: My Father, Barry Allen [10]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: @ Work w/ Dad, AU, Alternate Universe, Barry is Len's DAD, Father!Barry, Gen, Goes with the Series, Ice Cream, Insuficiant Tags, Little!Len, OOC, Search & Rescue, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-13
Updated: 2016-08-13
Packaged: 2018-08-08 11:09:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7755409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GachMoBrea/pseuds/GachMoBrea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a work day for Barry but he doesn't want Len to leave his sight, so he takes his son with him. Unfortunately, Len's curiosity is a little overpowering in his smaller stature and he wanders off when his Dad isn't looking.<br/>What happened afterwards was totally not his fault.</p>
            </blockquote>





	At Work With Dad

The next morning, Len wakes in the walls of his new life. He yawns, stretching as he gets out of the bed and sleepily walks to his dresser.

As he tries to decide between a mustard yellow and an autumn green, there's a knock on his door.

"Len?" Barry's voice calls out as the door opens. "You awake, buddy?"

"Right here," Len tells him, tossing both choices in favor of the dark, crimson red that was underneath. "Just dressing."

"Oh, good," his 'dad' pops his head in enough to smile at him. "I'm taking you to work today, so hurry up and get downstairs for breakfast. Okay?"

"Me?" Len blinks up at the speedster. "I get to go to your job?"

'And not get arrested for it?'

"Yeah," Barry's smile gets bigger. "I'm going to show you where I work and you can watch me process the evidence that puts the bad guys away."

'Like me,' Len tries to smile as big as his 'dad'. "Cool!"

"That's my boy," the hero winks, then leaves the room to run down the steps.

Len drops the smile as he puts his shirt on. 'Great. Take your kid to work day.'

　

　

"Hey, Poppa!" Len smiles at Joe when he makes it down the stairs. "You sleep well?"

"Uh, yeah," his 'grandpa' turns his attention away from his newspaper to look at Len. "How 'bout you?"

"Good, no nightmares," Len scrambles into his chair by himself and smiles at Iris as she puts the cereal in front of him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, baby," she kisses his forehead.

Len hasn't decided what to call her yet. 'Iris' seems to work, even in this universe, but if he's going to fully dive into this new persona...maybe he should try Mom?

He shakes his head, diving into the food. Too soon to decide.

"You're in a good mood this morning," Joe folds the paper and looks at Len intently. "Did you have good dreams last night?"

"Yep!" Len doesn't bother swallowing before answering. Kids got away with bad table manners all the time. He hadn't had any dreams last night. Which was just as good as having a 'good dream'.

"Are you coming into the station today, Joe?" Barry asks, shoving half a piece of toast into his mouth afterwards.

"Yeah," the older man sighs heavily. "I don't want to imagine the work load waiting for me when I get there."

"It might be less," Iris smiles at her father, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "But I know how much work is waiting for me."

"Don't forget," Barry calls out to his wife as she heads to the door. "I can still glare at him!"

"Yeah, no," she chuckles, waving as she goes out the door.

　

　

Joe takes his own beat-up car while Barry drives a nicer looking SUV to the CCPD.

The building looked the same as it did in Len's universe. Maybe just the people, and their connections, were different here?

Len holds on tight to Barry's hand as he leads him through the daunting doors. For some inane reason, he felt like an officer would turn and arrest him as Captain Cold.

But as the made their way passed the main entrance, up the stairs, and into the CSI's office, no one even looked their way.

"ALLEN!" a voice bellowed, making Len flinch.

Barry squeezed his hand as he turned to an angry looking Captain Singh who had just turned the corner.

"Yes, sir?"

""Yes, sir?"" the man scoffs. "You've been out in lala land for over a week and all you have to say for yourself is 'yes sir'?"

"I've been sick," Len tells the man simply, keeping any harshness out of his tone.

The angry look vanishes to one of confusion, "What is HE doing here?"

"He's been really sick and this is the first time I've been able to take him out of the house," Barry explains quickly. "I need to keep an eye on him in case he gets worse. Doctor's orders."

"You're married, aren't you?" Singh growls at the hero. "Can't she do that?"

"My wife would do anything for our son, BUT," the speedster frowns at his boss. "Len is my son too and I have decided that he needs to be in my sight today. If you want me to leave..."

Barry turns as if to do just that, but his boss's head is already hanging low as he growls in frustration.

"Fine!" Singh rubs at his forehead. "But make sure you follow protocols. This isn't a learning experience for your kid to 'solve his own case' or other such drivel."

"Yes, sir, of course," the hero smiles as his frowning boss stalks away.

Len lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

　

"Now," Barry lets go of Len's hand to grabs some plain papers, a stool, and a box. "You can work here or watch me," he places the things in place by the window before turning an excited look to Len. "Okay, buddy?"

"Sure," Len shrugs. "I'll be good."

"Thanks, kiddo," the hero's shoulders relax as he turns to the piles of paperwork and evidence boxes. "I think they're reproducing."

Len snorts out a laugh and surprised himself more than his 'dad' with the noise.

Barry smiles fondly at him before sitting on his stool and getting to work.

'That was embarrassing,' Len inwardly sighs, going to his 'place' by the window.

　

　

As time ticks by, his father running tests and occasionally using his powers to speed up his progress, Len uses the pencils he finds in the box to try drawing the Cold Gun. His smaller hands make it difficult to get a good grip on the pencil and he settles for a few smiling heads that he thinks his 'dad' will appreciate before he gets bored and starts walking the CSI's lab.

Barry had occasionally glanced at Len in the beginning, but now the speedster's focus is solely on his work and Len is already in the hallway before he realizes he hasn't been yelled at yet.

'I've put him through a lot already,' Len thinks as he looks back at the man. 'But I'm so **BORED**! And who knows what else they've got going on here? I've only ever seen booking.'

"Sorry, Barry," he whispers, randomly picking a direction to walk.

　

　

It's amazing how many adults will ignore a kid if he looks like he knows where he's going and doesn't purposely look for attention.

Len maps out the building in his head as he walks, noting the fastest escape routes and flaws in security. Old habits die hard.

"Hey! You there!"

His heart jumps to his throat as he turns to an angry looking officer coming his way.

'Crap.' Len runs.

Even in another universe as another person, he do NOT want to be arrested again.

Len's little legs carry him fast down the winding hallways, but he takes a wrong turn and he's thrown into unfamiliar territory.

He hears the pounding footsteps of the officer still chasing him so he dashes into a random room to find a place to hide.

He pulls on the cord inside and scowls.

It's a janitor's room, judging by all the cleaning materials.

The footsteps are getting closer and there's no way Len can get out of the closet and find another place to hide in time, so he mentally marks where to hide and turns back off the light.

He sneaks into the perfect place just as the door opens.

Len closes his eyes as the light turns on.

He doesn't move.

Doesn't even breath.

Then the light is back off and Len counts to ten before he allows the air in and out of his lungs again.

　

'No more running away from Barry,' Len scolds himself as he slowly gets out of his hiding spot. 'You end up scaring yourself just as much as you do him.'

Len smirks, trying to come up with a clever pun to that as he reaches for the knob.

It doesn't move.

The smirk vanishes as Len takes the knob in both hand and tries to turn it harder.

It is not budging.

His hands slip and slide across the metal as he tries both ways to get it to move, even tries up and down a few times, but it will not budge.

"I'm trapped," Len scares himself with his own voice. He growls in his head, 'Stop acting like a child!'

Len sighs, turning on the light as he puts his back to the door and slides into a sitting position on the floor.

'He's going to cuff you to himself next.'

　

　

\---

Barry finishes another case and deftly closes the file, "Another one bites the dust, eh, Lenny?"

He turns to his boy and ice floods his veins. His boy isn't there. The place where his boy SHOULD be is totally absent of son.

"Len?" he flashes around the room but there's no sign of the boy. "Leonard?"

Barry runs out the door and looks both ways of the hallway, "Leonard!"

There's no way he can use his powers without the other officers noticing, so Barry has to run at a regular pace to search for his boy.

He goes left first.

　

"Len!"

"Lenny?"

"Leonard!"

He asks every officer that looks his way if they've seen the boy, but they all shrug and shake their head.

'How can so many adults ignore a child?!' Barry frowns, checking another room and finding nothing. 'Why does this keep happening?!?!'

"Leonard!!"

Barry head to the right side of the building.

　

\---

Len's stomach growls and he hugs it tightly to get it to stop.

"I just fed you, uh," he looks to his wrist but there's no watch to know how long he's been locked in the closet. "Whenever."

He want to eat. He's getting tired again.

'Where's Barry?' he thinks as he yawns.

　

\---

"LEONARD!"

"ALLEN!" Singh shouts at his subordinate. Barry turns to his boss. "Why are you running around my precinct shouting out the name 'Leonard'?"

"It's my son," the hero runs a hand through his hair. "He's wandered off and I can't find him."

Singh's expression softens to one of sympathy. He turns to a random officer passing by and barks, "You!"

The officer jumps, turning to salute the captain in an instant.

"Have you seen a boy running around the station?" Singh order-asks.

"No, sir," the officer shakes his head. "But Officer Miller was chasing after someone earlier."

"Thank you, officer," Singh turns to Barry. "Let's go find Officer Miller."

Barry smiles, but doesn't' relax. He can't. Not until he sees his boy for himself.

　

\---

"I should start banging on the door before they all leave," Len sighs, getting to his feet again. "Dear ole dad isn't coming."

Just as he lifts his hand to start banging, it opens and he blinks up at three faces with varying states of emotion.

The most varying one, changing by the second, is Barry.

"Leonard!" his 'dad' scoops Len up and hugs him tightly. "What on earth happened?"

"I had to go potty," Len tries for a pout, but he's still a little thrown that the speedster sounded so worried. "I didn't want to bother your important work."

"I caught him sneaking around and thought he was up to no good," the officer that had chased him earlier tells them. "I didn't know he was yours, Allen."

"Yeah," Barry chuckles, still hugging Len. "He's mine."

Singh sighs, "You can take him home, Allen."

That earns him three curious looks.

"The cases waited this long," the captain shrugs. "They can wait one day more."

"Thank you, sir," Barry shakes his hand, then walks towards where the exit must be.

"But be here all the earlier the next morning!" Singh shouts after him.

　

Barry takes Len to the bathroom first.

　

\---

Instead of going straight home, Barry stops by an ice cream shop to get them a cone each. Len hungrily licks at the cold treat, not knowing why he was so hungry suddenly.

"You're going to get a brain freeze," his 'dad' chuckles at him. "Try to eat like a normal person."

"But I'm special," Len smirks at his inside joke, licking at a blob that tried to slide down his hand towards the ground.

"You sure are, Len," Barry says softly, running his fingers through the top of Len's hair. "You're the most special little boy I know."

'Must not know a lot of little boys,' Len thinks, but he only hums as he continues to eat.

"Leonard," Barry's voice is soft but firm.

'Time for the scolding,' Len resigns himself for whatever the speedster has in store for his punishment as he turns to look at him.

At least he got ice cream first.

His 'dad' looks a little unsure of himself but he takes a breath before saying, "I love you very much, son."

'Just get it over with, Scarlett,' Len takes another biting-lick of his dessert.

"And because I love you so much," Barry smiles. "Nothing you ever need will ever bother me. If you have a question, even if you think it's silly, I _want_ you to ask me."

Len nods, waiting for the rest.

"And even if it seems embarrassing, like having to use the bathroom," he tussles Len's hair. "You can still ask me about it. You," the speedster touches Len's nose. "are not a bother. Not to me. Ever."

Len nods again. Waits again.

"Good," his 'dad' lets out a breath, turns back to his own melting dessert.

And that's it?

Len finishes his ice cream as slowly as his hunger will allow him to.

His 'dad' doesn't say anything else.

There's no shouting.

No 'I am disappointed in you' or 'You need to behave better' speeches.

Just silence and ice cream.

　

Len stares at the man sitting next to him carefully. Takes in every detail of his face.

"Thank you," he says, voice lowering, "...Dad."

 

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing. (Nothing- not anything; no single thing.)


End file.
